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FORT COLLINS, CO. POLICESETTLE YET ANOTHERABUSE of POWER CASE

By Enan HeneghanMarch 7, 2017

The unlawful arrest of J. Heneghan in his own domicile by Fort Collins, CO police officer Aaron Westby has settled out of court. Heneghan was represented by civil rights attorney David Lane of Denver. The circumstances and audio recording of the incident make it of particular interest for those monitoring the rise in police misconduct cases.

Officer Westby was dispatched to 1900 Corriedale Ct. after a neighbor called in a noise complaint. Westby approached the front door with a citizen, his ride-along passenger. He knocked until the tenants in the back-yard could heard him. J. Heneghan answered the door, while J. Kirkland went upstairs to turn down the music. Heneghan acknowledged that the music was loud and that his roommate, Kirkland, was turning it down. Officer Westby demanded Heneghan’s ID, but he did not have it with him, saying, “oh, no man”. Westby asked for the ID again, when Heneghan began explaining that the music was loud because they were moving out. Westby then demanded Heneghan step out of his home, but Heneghan said that he was “good” where he was; in the protection of his own home, where the audio recorder in the kitchen remained on. Additionally, the behavior and temperament of the police officer made Heneghan believe that stepping outside would be a mistake, not to mention, humiliating, given the number of onlookers that were now at attention thanks to Westby’s aggressive knocks. Additionally, Heneghan knew that he had every right to stay in his home given the nature of the call.

When Heneghan didn’t step out of the house upon command, Westby reached passed the threshold trying to rip Heneghan out of his home. Heneghan backed up into the living room of his house further, letting Westby know that he is aware of his rights.

After only 22 seconds had passed, Westby entered the home and told Heneghan to come outside with him or he would be pepper sprayed; at this point, Heneghan was unsure of the legitimacy of the officer, whom never identified himself and was clearly breaking the law by illegally entering. As Heneghan remained in his home, officer Westby deployed pepper spray on him, then brutally brought him to the ground; ultimately leaving deep bruises and a number of cuts and scrapes that were documented. Westby also unnecessarily sat on the face of the civilian. The Officer also refused to name himself when asked his name by Heneghan. A second officer, Lang, told Heneghan he was being charged with obstruction and resisting.

Both charges were dismissed on August 31 in a Loveland CO court.

While in lock-up, Heneghan was deemed uncooperative for his unwillingness to answer any questions without a lawyer. He was kept in a solitary holding cell with florescent lights for almost all of the 28 hours at the Larimer County Correctional Facility; he wasn’t given a blanket or sleeping pad in the cell until more than 5 hours after asking for it. He was denied access to the phones during business hours; and was only given access to a phone-book at night, which was useless since he is a Chicago teacher and only knew one person in Colorado: his roommate and friend that he was out there to visit and help move: J. Kirkland. So, not having memorized Kirkland's cell phone, Heneghan was unable to get a-hold of him in the limited time he was given to use the phones; and adding insult to injury, Kirkland had been calling the jail throughout the day to speak with Heneghan, but the clerks and C.O.s refused to let Kirkland speak with Heneghan since he wasn’t answering any questions; despite knowing that Kirkland was the person he’d been trying to contact for hours. While others were let out soon after their bail hearing, the treatment of Heneghan led to his being forced to stay there for 10+ more hours than he otherwise would have.

Proceeding the dismissal, Heneghan and Kirkland went on to write a song about the incident; they then compiled a music video using the body camera footage of the secondary officers on the scene, atop their own recorded video from that afternoon of music recording.

Heneghan’s Mission Statement: This injustice that happened to me would have been avoided if the responding police officer Aaron Westby had been wearing and/or activated his body camera. His illegal entry, excessive brutality and sexual misconduct would not have led to the financial, emotional and psychological burden I have dealt with since his violations. My hope is that this case can raise awareness for how much police need more accountability; that they can’t take the law into their own hands in a digital-era; that our rights are defensible. It is only because I had my own audio recorder going that the criminal charges of obstruction and resisting were dismissed; otherwise, Westby may have succeeded in his attempt to ruin my future.

And finally, additional footage of the arresting officer shows him instructing his back up officer to turn off his body camera just moments after the brutalization. It certainly suggests that Officer Westby did not want his account of the incident recorded.